10 reasons why divorce is hard for doctors and 5 tips to make it easier

Physician
July 10, 2020

No matter who pulls the plug, divorce sucks.

It does get better, and eventually, you get to a new normal — but the process sucks. I know this because our two-physician marriage ended 15 years ago when our daughters were six and seven years old.

Divorce can be especially hard on physicians, and during these COVID times, additional challenges have surfaced for many divorced physicians. Some on the frontlines have been unable …

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The physician who treats depressed, anxious, and suicidal teens [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 9, 2020
YouTube video

“After almost 30 years in this profession, I have come to the conclusion that there is some truth to that, as no day or week passes that I do not have a depressed, anxious or suicidal teen on my ‘to see list.’ Could it be my own personal history of depression and suicidal ideation? Could it be my own history of …

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Don’t be afraid to say “Black” when asking about someone’s culture

Physician
July 9, 2020

On the morning of George Floyd’s funeral less than ten miles from our medical center in Houston, I was avoiding the word “Black.” Despite wholehearted pride in the strong Black presence in our community health center’s physicians, staff, and patients, I felt a loss of words that Tuesday morning. There was simply too much pain, grief, and rage in our community.

I was thankful …

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Pearls and pitfalls for medical students entering their clinical years

Education
July 9, 2020

Transitioning from the classroom to the wards is an uncertain and anxiety-provoking time for many medical students. Schedules are constantly changing, as are expectations and learning objectives. Mentorship and advice from upperclassmen, residents, and attendings was an essential tool in my MS3 toolbox. I would go so far as to say that these pieces of insight are the toolbox. The 2020-2021 academic year will provide its own degree of obstacles …

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The medical basis of vampires and other medical myths [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 8, 2020
YouTube video

“Where did the myth of vampires come from? Like many myths, it is based partly in fact. A blood disorder called porphyria, which has has been with us for millennia, became prevalent among the nobility and royalty of Eastern Europe. A genetic disorder, it becomes more common with inbreeding. Porphyria is a malfunction in the process of hemoglobin production. Hemoglobin is …

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6 tips for success in residency training

Physician
July 8, 2020

Recently, a few colleagues and I sat down with our six incoming interns during a welcoming round-table discussion.  Being the closest member of the faculty to these residents in age and time from residency, I was best able to relate to them and their current feelings.

I, too, sat in those chairs in a conference room that was last used for graduating our outgoing chief residents.  I, too, remember the feelings …

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Bottles and pacifiers: advice from a Latinx pediatrician

Conditions
July 8, 2020

Growing up in Puerto Rico, “babas” (bottles: biberón/botellas) and “bobos” (pacifiers:  chupetes/chupón) were very common among the families and children of the island.  I still remember our Abuelita giving us milk in our “babas,” so my younger sister and I were sure to fall asleep better.  From the time of our births, to when my sister was three years old, the “bobo” was also consistently being used in our home.

Now, …

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Why cultural competency courses should be requisites for medical school

Education
July 8, 2020

Like many others, I have felt immense frustration in the past couple of weeks. The news surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, compounded by many other incidents of injustice against minorities, has made me feel constant rage at the society we live in.

I’ve tried to channel my anger into as much activism as I can think of, and I’m looking for more opportunities every day. Beyond donating, protesting, …

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The guilt of physician-moms [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 7, 2020
YouTube video

“As women physicians, especially physician moms and women physicians of color, we have handled and achieved more than the vast majority of the population, in order to reach our current status of physician.

We do because we can.

We are Superwomen. Until we’re not.

Without thought, we take on others’ responsibilities, because we can.

In addition to our own personal responsibility to ourselves and to …

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The current state and future of psychiatry [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 6, 2020
YouTube video

What are the challenges facing psychiatry? How does psychiatry need to innovate the continue to thrive? What is the future of psychiatry What’s your #1 tip for those considering the profession? What advice can you give to primary care clinicians as it relates to behavioral health issues?

Owen Muir is a psychiatrist and host of the podcast, Pandemic Check In.

He shares his …

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Minorities and medical research: Who is still excluded?

Policy
July 6, 2020

In the United States, there is clear evidence that minority populations continue to be underrepresented in clinical research related to new therapies for common and serious long-term medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). This is despite these same populations facing a continuing and disproportionate burden of T2D, which shows no signs of abating.

Black people have one of the highest rates of T2D (13.2 percent), a rate almost twice …

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Primary care is dying: Why that should scare every large employer

Policy
July 6, 2020

Primary care is on life support. COVID-19’s toll on American health care extends beyond the hospitals and medical workers besieged by infection. An equally insidious but less-visible crisis is engulfing primary care, the long-neglected foundation of our health care system. Given the role of America’s largest corporations in providing health care benefits, the C-suite should be on high alert.

As growing numbers of patients postpone appointments over concerns about …

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What happens when patient capacity and autonomy diverge?

Physician
July 6, 2020

“I can’t take this, doc. It’s gonna kill me. I can’t. I just can’t,” exclaims my patient with persistent refusal of his medication. My frustration is met with my patient care team’s hesitation to give him the medication with fear of further conflict and possible escalation to violence.  But who’s at fault? Any of us? All of us?

My second patient, lying on the MRI table, shaking his head swiftly in …

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The view from an infectious disease physician in Texas [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 5, 2020
YouTube video

“Death is not meant to be rushed. Saying goodbye shouldn’t be rushed. Celebrating a life once lived cannot be rushed. And yet, we must. Taking a moment, a minute, an hour, maybe a day to feel something that normally takes far longer. Because we must. And in our hearts, the grief remains. Frozen in time in this state of mourning that …

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The emotional side of being a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic

Physician
July 5, 2020

It was a Thursday. It was supposed to be one of those “regular” evening shifts. Then, at 6:15 p.m., my first page went off: Bed 11, Mrs. R., Dr. H. needs to talk to you. The page came from the COVID section of the emergency department.

I immediately called back. It saddened me when I learned that our patient was a young woman health care worker in her early 50s. She …

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9 tips for new pediatric residents

Physician
July 5, 2020

It’s that wonderful time of year when new interns take their first steps into hospitals as practicing physicians One of us has just completed her intern year and the other quite a while back (but recently enough to still remember some of it), so we wanted to share some tips for the pediatric interns about to start this wonderful adventure.

1. Don’t be overly anxious (as a little anxiety is expected). …

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